Thursday, April 5, 2012

1 Month Post

Ben will be one month old in two days but we will be visiting family for Easter so I don't plan on being on the Internet over the weekend so I am going to reflect on it today! Just for fun, when I was picking out clothes for him this morning, I put on his "going home" outfit to see how it fit. It still fits, but is barely long enough anymore. The sleeves are still really long. The leg holes are about an ounce of weight gain away from being too tight.

I took this photo a few minutes ago...﻿

He will soon be outgrowing that basinette which I am kind of sad about because I like having a convenient place to lay him down during the day where I know he is safe while I run to the bathroom or laundry room for a few minutes. When he flails his arms they hit the sides and I can hear him banging around in there sometimes.

Here he is on going home day. It is hard to see how loose the outfit is and I can't really remember but you can see there is room in the legs and slack in the crotch.

Where has my newborn gone?!

Allan has been a good kitten since Ben came home and has shown that we have nothing to worry about as far as safety. He isn't interested in making physical contact at all. He looks on with curiousity alot of the time and doesn't seem stressed when Ben cries and fusses (which is alot some days!). Last night I caught a few cute pictures of them getting to know each other. Justin placed them in close proximity...Allan wouldn't get close on his own.

Allan got the best spot in the sun! Too bad, Ben! He is the oldest!

This is another photo like so many others...I just look it because it was the first time he wore this outfit! I took many photos of him in that outfit because I was following an online camera lesson because I am trying to learn how to be more advanced with my camera. Unfortunately, the lesson said to take the photos in the RAW format instead of JPEG and you need special software from Canon to read RAW files on my computer and there is not a version of the software for Windows 7. Or something...I don't know. I can see the RAW photos but can't upload them. They are just a blank box. I just switched back to JPEG until further notice.

I had the thought after I uploaded these pictures this morning that I should take his picture with the same stuffed animal or toy every month like so many people do. He has several cute animals he got as gifts...and there is always the cute live animal named Allan! Maybe I will do that later today.

Some 1 month observations...

- 1 month of nursing down! I have told myself to take it 1 month at a time. All of the recommendations say that 6 months should be the minimum so I set a goal of 6 months, although I do believe that some is better than none so 1 month is better than no months and 2 months is better than 1. I feel good about it so far, so I plan on making it at least several more months.

-He is building strength. When I hold him upright against my chest so he is looking over my shoulder he does these little push-up things where he pushes against me and lifts himself with his arms and legs and stays like that for awhile while looking around with wide eyes. He especially enjoys practicing this maneuver at 4 a.m. when I want to sleep. So much for peaceful moments of cuddling

-I think he outgrew the newborn sized diapers in the last few days but we are still using them because we have half of a bag to use up. They are getting tight around the waist and legs, but mostly I notice that the capacity is not as great especially for wetness.

-He still has his funny newborn reflexes like startling randomly when laying on his back and the "fencing" pose although he doesn't do them as much lately.

-He has a new squealing sound in the fussing repertoire. It is cute, even though his fussing can really drive us crazy.

-I can't believe I haven't slept for more than 5 hours consecutively for a month. And the 5 hour occasions are rare. It is amazing what a person can endure although I have been close to melting down a few times.

-I have had a few "not a perfect mom" moments. Well, I have them all the time, such as when Ben lays fussing in the basinette for 15 minutes while I stand in the shower with the water drowning him out. But there have been a few really shameful things. The worst is that I tried to cut his claw-like nails with a baby nail clipper, which is still quite big for his fingers. He squirmed but didn't cry at all but the next morning two of his finger tips had little scabs, which means that I cut his skin as well as his nail. Oh, I felt horrible when I saw that! I also suck at burping him and if he doesn't do it fast I usually give up and move on to other activities, which often leads to spitting up. I am glad, however, that spitting up is not a regular thing that happens with every feeding. But...regardless of these issues he still seems to love me! When we were skiing and other people were holding him or watching him he would react to the sound of my voice when I came in the room which is so cute! Justin can soothe him too, especially when I have been dealing with his fussing all day. It is like he can sense my tension.

-He has been a great traveller, going on one big trip (to Montana) and also to a wedding before the age of one month. Going home for Easter will be his third. He is also very good when we eat out or run errands. These excursions might add to our imperfections because I have heard that some doctors recommend that babies don't go out for six weeks. Some Babycenter board moms are not even taking their babies to church or family gatherings for Easter because of this recommendation. Our doctors never said that we had to wait six weeks so I think we are fine.

I hope month two brings more adventures and continuing advancements in our parenting skills so things continue to seem less challenging! Also I hope it brings a greater stomach capacity and more hours of sleep at a time! PLEASE!!!

No comments:

Welcome!

Hola...I started this blog after my husband and I purchased our first house in August 2009. We were encouraged, as were many of our friends and relatives, to purchase a house by the first time homebuyer tax credit. The purpose of the blog was originally to keep people informed about our various projects and adventures including the fun (decorating!) and the challenging (snow removal, garden disasters). I often stray from the topic of houses and homeownership and write about our weekend activities, our cat, our families, TV shows, sports, clothes, sewing, and whatever I feel like! Occasionally I write about other first time homebuyers and their projects. Enjoy!